


Happens to the heart, a Cassandra one-shot

by AzureAngel2



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:35:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26103529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureAngel2/pseuds/AzureAngel2
Summary: Summary: A damsel in distress has been rescued. By a monster. At least that's what the rest of the galaxy considers Darth Vader to be. A hideous creature straight from a nightmare. But the former Jedi knight is so much more than he usually allows himself to be since he turned into a Lord of the Sith.Length: one-shotTime frame: The story takes place in 0 BBY, some days after the destruction of the First Death Star.Place of choice: MustafarReader Warning: Please excuse my weird English! I am German. English is only my Second language!Note: Don't take this and claim it's yours. This and all material related to this story is copy-written by me. Unless otherwise mentioned or you have explicit permission from me, you cannot use anything related for any purpose.Disclaimer: SW is owned by Walt Disney, George Lucas and Lucas Lt.!!!
Kudos: 1





	Happens to the heart, a Cassandra one-shot

**Title:** “ _Happens to the heart”_ , a Cassandra one-shot

_Home is behind_

_The world ahead_

_And there are many paths to tread_

_Through shadow_

_To the edge of night_

_Until the stars are all alight_

_Mist and shadow_

_Cloud and shade_

_All shall fade_

_All shall fade_

_**With determination, he had followed the rebel scum to a deck near the top of the tower. There the brown haired girl was already busy transmitting her booty to her comrades. Precious data from the Imperial vaults. Top-secret.** _

_**Of course, he held the meanie at gunpoint.** _

_**All of the sudden, a laser bolt brought him down.** _

**“** _**Argh!”** _

_**The girl's partner in crime.** _

Cassandra Krennic woke with a fright. Her heart was racing like that of a long distance runner. The silken bed sheets were soaked with her sweat.

“What the freck?” she cursed not very lady like.

Above everything else, she preferred Seersucker. That type of material was pretty, comfortable and easy to care for.

The young woman blinked in quick succession.

Usually, her bed chamber was illuminated by the Coruscant skyline and, if she chose to, by the holograms of Corellian flame miniatures. Her father, an able engineer and Imperial officer, had installed those, when she had been very young.

Tonight the world was different though. It was on fire. Eerie flame shades danced over furniture that was not hers.

It took her a couple of moments to figure out where she was. When she finally did, realization hit her very hard, like a ton of durasteel.

Almost instantly, she moved a weary hand over her face.

“Of course,” she said to no one in particular but herself.

Now her surroundings made sense. She was the guest of the man who had rescued her in her darkest hour.

Due to a cruel twist of fate, she had become an enemy of the state. Of an Empire she had grown up in, had learned to obey and love.

Without further ado, ISB agents had thrown her into a secret prison that existed outside the official channels. Fortunately, she had been kept there for a brief time only. Relatively unharmed. Only her feelings had been hurt.

In the worst possible way, she had learnt that her father, Director Orson Callan Krennic, had been blown into his atomic components. But he was not the only casualty of the Scarif base. The entire garrison and their security complex had been burned out of existence. From her point of view the worst case of friendly fire ever. The man in charge though had believed that the entire Krennic family had worked together with the traitor Galan Walton Erso, a specialist for kyber crystals.

“Humbug!” she cursed as she rolled her eyes.

Cassandra Krennic gathered her bed sheets together, wrapping them around her chest. Not putting on her fluffy pink slippers she walked straight to her panorama windows. Her bare feet tapped over expensive rugs that only a few individuals in this galaxy were able to afford.

Of course her cousin had insisted on giving her a room with a view. The most spectacular one that any person could have in this castle. Right above the lava falls. As much as she appreciated his endeavours to make her feel welcome and wanted, a part of her dreaded the fire sea of Mustafar. For it reminded her constantly how her father had died.

The young woman pressed her lips together, leaned her hot brow against the glass. “I miss you... so much.”

As if on cue, her massive chamber doors opened.

Her cousin entered right away. No word of greeting. Instead, he came to stand next to her. Still no verbal exchange.

In unison they turned to the window and started looking into the glowing night together.

Bravely, the young woman fought her impulse down to lean into him or to hide underneath his wide, black cape. She was not a child any more. A couple of weeks ago she had had her nineteenth birthday. It was about time she started acting like an adult. Especially with her father gone from her life. And he was not the only one.

There had been various casualties of the ongoing civil war.

The first had been her godfather, Agent Alexsandr Kallus. Somehow the beliefs of the rebels had gotten hold of him. To her he was dead.

The next one to die for the Empire had been a dear friend of hers, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Her Mitth'raw'nuruodo, for that was his name among his own people, fell during the battle of Lothal. It was rumoured that a flock of purrgil, massive deep space creatures, had devoured him and his ship, the 'ISD Chimaera'.

For a brief moment, she closed her eyes in order to blink a bunch of treacherous tears away. She had been raised as an officer's daughter. Not as a cry baby.

“Let me guess, your suit would not let you sleep,” she considered after a while, her voice soft. “As usual.”

The Dark Lord did not answer, but she felt his slight amusement. Deep inside the fortress he carried around, his Sith battle armour, he was a human being still. A man trapped in pain and agony forever.

“Thanks for stopping by!” She stole a glance at him. “I really, really appreciate it.”

Still no word back from him, but she basically soaked in his physical closeness. No other being in the galaxy would. But to her the infamous Lord Vader had never been a threat.

“And what do you do for fun around here?” she asked and glanced up directly to his masked face.

“Being a Sith disciple is not about having fun,” he reminded her in a clipped tone.

Encouragingly, she smiled up at him. “Because its damned hard work and dedication going on.”

“That is correct, Cassandra.”

She had always liked how her cousin pronounced her name with his artificially modulated voice. Not that he was a great orator. Not even when he had rescued her, he had said overly much. Just three words. More a suggestion than an order.

_Come with me._

Such an easy, yet difficult choice at the same time.

Fishing for a subject in order to keep their conversation going, she played with one of her pigtails. “And this lunatic, who created all this, did you throw him straight into the lava river beneath us?”

“Why would I have done such a deed?” he inquired and she could tell he was holding back. Trust was not his thing. That was the way of the Sith. He did not even trust himself most of the time.

Cassandra Krennic made a wide gesture with her arms. “This castle is a construction sin of the gravest kind. Daddy would have you build something more beautifully.”

Somewhat smug, the Dark Lord folded his arms in front of his chest plate. “Momin will not bother us any more.”

She knew better than to ask for details. But the architect's name stirred something deep inside her. She just had to voice her misgivings. The temptation was too strong. “Momin. Like in Sith Lord Momin.”

“The very one.” Her cousin nodded slowly.

“It's for the better, then. Dead men should not enter the realm of the living. Especially Sith phantoms. It never bears good for anybody involved.”

Now the temptation was with the Dark Lord. “What would you know about such matters?”

The young woman twitched her nose. “I act as your librarian, for a couple of years now. Therefore it's my duty to keep myself informed.” She eyed his chest control panel closer. “Do you know that there are several weird inscriptions right here?”

That took him by surprise. “Oh?” he voiced and, despite the voice modulator, sounded like a much, much younger person all of a sudden.

“Whoever made that suit decided it needed labels but knew that they would never be readable. So that person stuck on something that was clearly not meant to be readable.”

Dragon-strong hands gripped her shoulders. “But is there any meaning?”

She gazed at the giant of a man, who lit anew with fierce hope that his suffering was not pointless. “Erm, some letters of that ancient language are backwards, but I believe it says something similar to…

“Yes?”

“ _Ein ma'asav nisslachim ad shezacha,”_ she translated. _His deeds will not be forgiven_ _until he merits._

Thoughts and memories unfurled in her cousin's mind, doubts and questions. But Cassandra Krennic kept away from that private place. Instead, she breathed quietly.

Of late, someone special had bothered to introduce to her the Five Styles of Breathing. Someone, who gave his best to teach her patience, too. Normally, she was like a Bulabird from Chandrilla, restless and bright.

“Why would anybody mess around with my chest plate?” he asked, his mood even darker than his voice.

“That is a jolly good question. Stick to it.”

He let go of her shoulders as if afraid of their physical contact all of a sudden. But she felt his gaze on her, rueful and compassionate.

“As for that language from Terra, well, those were very pious people. Some of them warriors, others dealers or money lenders. But there were also scholars among them. And some of those knew how to create artificial life forms. _Golems._ ”

“Continue!” he obliged her and she could tell that he was hanging on her lips as usual.

She made her back as straight as possible, trying to look regal. “There were secret rituals how to create an animated anthropomorphic being entirely from inanimate matter.”

“Such as?” he probed, his mask looking like the outlines of a metal skull.

“Usually clay or mud.”

The Dark Lord made a dry sound and it took her some heartbeats to identify it as laughter. “I am not a lump of clay, believe me.”

Casually, Cassandra Krennic walked over to her bed and settled herself down on the mattress. While she did, her legs moved into Lotus position, _padmasana_. “But somebody treated you like it and this angers me. There are better ways to keep a dying person alive.”

“Whatever gave you the impression that I had been on the brink of death, when I got this suit?”

She sighed. “We wanted to be honest with one another.”

“I am merely making inquiries here, Cassandra,” he defended himself.

Holding her disappointment with him at bay, she said, “My point is, at some point, your life was squeezed into this Sith armour like a dough into a baking form. And Sith magic and other rituals were performed on you, to keep you alive against all odds.”

“Maybe, but who am I to question my master?” There was something like resignation in his words. “He did what needed to be done.”

“Daddy had a favourite poem.” She closed her eyes. “A line that repeated itself was: _Rage, rage against the dying of the light._ I would say the author wants the reader to fight against life being drained from him.”

“You contradict yourself,” he challenged her. “First you make the bold claim that I am kept alive by measures that some might consider as _'unnatural'_. And with the same breath you insist that life is sucked out of me.”

“The light in you, yes.”

“My panels are very functional, including all the little lights,” he assured her in a calm way, even though there was rage in his veins.

“I am talking about the light of your soul. The good man that lives inside this armour.”

He sauntered closer and gripped her chin, not spitefully, but with great care. “Have you joined any religious group of late?”

“No,” the young woman sulked. “What I am trying to imply here is that you are not the Sith that you think you are.”

His hand dropped. “I should have left you to rot in that prison cell.”

“You keep misunderstanding me!” she shrieked and got a hold of his hand again. “What I want to tell you, is that your master is holding you back.“

“Is he now?”

She glanced directly into his large, skull like eye sockets. “Looking closer at the Code of the Sith, known as _Qotsisajak_ , is essential.” It did not take her long to find a fitting quote by Qordis to add. “ _The tenets of the Sith are more than just words to be memorized. Learn them, understand them. They will lead you to the true power of the Force; the power of the dark side.”_

He did not let go of her hand, but his grip turned somewhat softer. “Enlighten me!”

There had been again, this smile that echoed in his voice from time to time.

With pride the words left her mouth, one after the other. In the ancient language of the Sith.

“ _Nwûl tash._

_Dzwol shâsotkun._

_Shâsotjontû châtsatul nu tyûk._

_Tyûkjontû châtsatul nu midwan._

_Midwanjontû châtsatul nu asha._

_Ashajontû kotswinot itsu nuyak._

_Wonoksh Qyâsik nun.”_

And he translated her words straight into Basic.

“ _Peace is a lie, there is only passion._

_Through passion, I gain strength._

_Through strength, I gain power._

_Through power, I gain victory._

_Through victory, my chains are broken._

_The Force shall free me.”_

For three heart beats, Cassandra Krennic waited. The right timing around her cousin was always very essential. Always had been. “It is my firm belief that your master does not teach you properly. Perhaps he is not willing to get killed by you.”

“Whatever for?”

Was he really so naive? As green as a little farm boy from some backwater world? Could this be truly possible?

She scanned him over and over again, her eyes half closed. “Well, for you to continue the Sith line after his passing, of course,” she decided. “As it is custom be since the days of Darth Bane.”

His displeasure and fear was overwhelming. To distract herself from his feelings, she spoke on. Willing to share her pearls of wisdom.

“Well, Sith philosophy is mandating that there can be never two masters at any given time. One can say that this is the first and only reality of the Sith. The master must die by the hands of his apprentice. There is no way around it. Unless your master goes for never-ending life. Like Tenebrea, known to the Old Sith Empire as Vitiate and later on as Valkorion. For about 1,500 years this powerful being manipulated our galaxy.”

“A dangerous theory,” mused the Dark Lord.

“I only voice it to you.” She remained rigid as an ice statue. “See, the way I understand the ancient scriptures, that I have read in your name so far, apprentices want to get out of the shadow of their masters.”

“What for?”

This seemed to be a trick question, but she wanted to be truthful with him anyway. “Well, to be masters themselves.” A sly grin appeared on her face, while she rose from the mattress and came to stand in front of him again. “It all became fashionable with Exar Kun. But I think it really started with Freedom Nad. He destroyed the ghost of his Sith master, Naga Sadow.”

Finally, he let go of her hand to which he had been holding on the entire time. “You should get some sleep, Cassandra.”

She shrugged. “Sleep is overrated.”

“Do not make me use drugs on you!” he warned her.

A sigh escaped her. “I won't.”

“Good. It would be unfortunate for both of us if I was to fill you up with sleeping pills.”

He sounded cool and impersonal, but she knew better. Due to the family link between them, she always would. Her blood whispered something else.

“And what about you? Will you try to sleep?” she challenged him.

“A long time ago, somebody told me that there was no trying.” He started walking.

“Did you kill him for it?”

He stopped dead in his tracks. “No. That person is still out there and hiding.”

“Are there still enough Jedi for you to hunt down?” she asked as polite as possible, because she could see a too familiar shape forming next to her bed.

“That should be the least of your worries, Cassandra.”

With that the Dark Lord was out of her chambers. There was no holding back for her now.

She basically flew towards her nightly visitor.

“What if he could have felt you?” she gave out to her father. Her true biological father. Not the wonderful man who had raised her as his own.

A forlorn smile formed on the bearded face of Qui-Gon Jinn. **“** **He won't. I am dead to him. And therefore I have stopped reaching out to him.”**

Anger built up in her. “Actually, you died thirty-two years ago on Naboo. A Sith lord named Darth Maul stabbed you. No wonder, that my dear cousin firmly believes that you are dead.”

He winked at her. **“** **Reading broadens the mind, Cassandra. To hide inside Coruscant's** _ **Public Library**_ **had some advantages at least.”**

“There is this mathematical problem that I do not understand.” Her lovely face turned into a grimace. “Can you please explain me, how you can claim to be my father, when you died thirteen years before I was born?”

The Jedi master did not seem to be angered or sad in the least. **“** **The Force works in mysterious ways.”**

“Freck you!” she barked back like a Corellian hound. “And freck the Force! And your entire Jedi order!”

Now, a deep frown appeared on Qui-Gon's features. But he did not scold her for her outburst. Instead, he put on a winning smile. It was calm and serene like a gift. **“** **For somebody so young and inexperienced as you this might be difficult to understand. But I will give my best anyway.”**

“Good luck!” The young woman stuffed her index fingers into her ears and turned away from the Force ghost.

But the loathsome voice re-emerged in her head. “ **Love makes us do the most terrible and wondrous things ever.”**

Annoyed, she jumped around, her ears uncovered again. But his ghostly apparition was gone. Their mental link was unbroken.

**“** **An uncle lost his niece under dire circumstances. But he was a dark lord of the Sith and knew about cloning.”**

This was not the story that Cassandra Krennic wanted to hear, but better judgement told her to listen to it anyway.

**“** **Not shortly after you were brought back to life in unnatural ways, a certain Imperial officer found you in your clone tank. He recognized you for what you were.”**

“A monster?” she wondered.

 **“** **No, Cassandra, as a second chance,”** came the friendly reply. “ **For the both of you.”**

Feeling dizzy, the young woman sank down to the edge of her mattress.

**“** **Orson had failed you in another life. And so he took it upon himself to free you from your cage. To give you a new purpose. As his beloved daughter.”**

The tears fell like rain, too mighty and violent to be stopped.

**“** **To him you were never Nagina, even though he was fully aware that the clone body before him carried her soul. He loved and worshipped you as his Cassie. Even when you became insufferable and unreasonable as a teenage girl.”**

It took her a while to utter the words without sounding too ungrateful. But then she managed to voice, “Thank you! But I would like to be alone for a while. A very good while, if you don't mind.”

**“** **Of course.”**

With that the Jedi master drew gently back from her mind, but she had no time to ponder. For her door opened.

As in a trance, she moved through the room, her eyes fixed on the glass of water and the pill next to it.

The Dark Lord's hands never trembled, but hers did when she reached out for the two items on the silver tray.

“It's for the better!” she muttered and gulped the medication down with a generous sip.

“It is!” he assured her, when she got dizzy.

Her cousin carried her to the bed, placed her on it and pulled the _duvet_ over her.

The blessing of sleep came quick and ever so softly. And there were no bewildering dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> Sources:  
> “Edge of night (Pippin's song)” from “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)  
> Wookieepedia – The Star Wars Wiki  
> Hidden quotes from SW movies and the SW universe


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